Listen To The Silence With Me
by Kaden-san
Summary: Tag to episode 1x16 'Dead To Rights'. "You don't have to tell her which friend, although she is a smart girl and you need to have some fun. We can go back to my apartment, I can cook you something and you can relax. No Hood missions, no targets and no names to cross off in a little book."


_** Many episodes late but this one-shot is supposed to pick up right after the episode 'Dead to Rights'. **_

_**Not a big fan of Oliver x Laurel so I jumped on the bandwagon to smother Oliver x Laurel stories into nothingness.**_

* * *

Felicity Smoak sat in a chair in Queen's old steel mill in the Glades and focused all of her remarkable brilliance on making her hands stop shaking. She held a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea in her hands, a thick, heavy cotton blanket draped over her shoulders and her eyes glistened with tears she refused to let fall in the face of the two strong men next to her. Her broken sniffles were the single sound heard above the low hum of the factory sounds and despite her best efforts Felicity couldn't stop her sniffling.

"Could you two make a sound or something? Its creepy how silent the two of you are even though you're right next to me."

"Sorry. Force of habit I learned while on the island."

"Right. Of course."

Felicity stood up, her slinky golden dress falling back down to halfway down her thighs and she walked over to the computer mainframe setup she had installed for Oliver the first few days she had been initiated onto the Team Hood as she liked to call the three of them. The familiar whirring and humming sounds the computers made soothed the inner turmoil of emotions Felicity was experiencing and the solid feel of the hardware beneath her fingertips eased Felicity's mind as well. Oliver and Diggle's eyes tracked her every movement, a quirk the brilliant IT tech had gotten used to and her mind was divided on whether to be flattered or disturbed about it.

"It's all right guys, I'm not going to fall apart under your watch or anything. I know the two of you have places to be, people to meet and things to do. I'm fine. Promise."

"Your attempt at sincerity wouldn't even fool the inexperienced Felicity, let alone Diggle and I. Come on, I'll drive you home."

The dual emotions in Oliver's tone, his brisk matter of factness and understanding warmth was another quirk of Oliver's that Felicity had gotten used to and the fact that Oliver could pull it off still amazed her. Still, what girl would pass up the opportunity to spend a night out on the town with _the _Oliver Queen? Felicity slipped into her jacket that Diggle held open for her and with a squeeze to the powerful man's forearm followed Oliver out of the factory onto the street.

"Where's your car?"

"Over there."

Oliver held out his arm and despite her blush Felicity took it with a sassy grin. Every time she touched him Felicity marveled at how one could feel the strength and power radiate off Oliver's powerful looking body. His every movement was graceful, calculated and lethal which appealed to the girly girl in Felicity. The two adults walked in comfortable silence across the street to a sporty looking BMW and Felicity chuckled.

"Nice car."

"Thanks. You should see my other one."

The dry quip that fell from Oliver's mouth made Felicity's head shoot up and she looked at him with surprise. His baby blue, dreamy eyes twinkled in the glow of the street lamp and his lips twisted into a half-smirk.

"Did you just quote Bruce Wayne from Batman Begins?"

"I watch a lot of movies when I can't sleep. That movie is one of my favorites."

Felicity snorted and shook her head. Oliver opened the passenger side door for her and Felicity slipped inside the car. A moment later Oliver dropped into the driver's seat, shut the door and with a push of a button the BMW purred to life.

"Not to mention the obvious and direct parallels between your life and Bruce Wayne's."

Oliver's pearly whites flashed in the soft light from the instrument panels of the BMW and Felicity's heart skipped. The easy, playboy charm wreaked havoc on her already taught nerves and there was the fact that she nursed a tiny, little crush on the absolutely sexy hunk of a mixture Oliver pulled off as Oliver Queen and The Hood.

"…as I was saying, one of my new favorites."

Felicity shook herself and focused back in on the conversation and not mentally undressing Oliver or playing out her fantasies. Those naughty opportunities would come when she lay in her bed safe and sound with Oliver Queen hopefully far across the city. Needing a distraction Felicity turned her attentions to the road and saw them flying by Starling city.

"Oliver where are we going?"

"The river."

"Um…okay. Why the river?"

"Because I like to go there and think. Far away from everything and everyone else."

Felicity shook her head as she was well used to Oliver's short, direct answers to her questions but out of the corner of her eye she saw the side of his mouth twitch and she sat back in the ridiculously comfortable leather seat with a small smile of her own. It wasn't a matter of whether Felicity trusted Oliver or not as being with him was one of the safest places to be and even though his delivery and follow through of his desires might majorly suck more often than not, his genuine desire to want to help others always shone through.

"What's on your mind tonight?"

"Patience isn't one of your virtues is it Felicity?"

Felicity turned her head away as she blushed and berated herself for prying too much into Oliver's life. He had already shared his biggest secret with her but she had to keep digging as she needed to know _everything_ about Oliver Queen and he was fascinating. Oliver Queen was like a rubric's cube and an onion at the same time in being that pushing certain buttons of his made him respond a certain way and every time one peeled back a layer there was always another one to be seen.

"No, not really. I mean I solve problems as fast as I can for a living. I mean computers, not you and you're not a problem! I mean yeah you have your problems but that can be rationalized with your experience on the island, your father's death, Walter missing and…I'm babbling aren't I?"

"You wouldn't be Felicity if you didn't."

To her eternal shame Felicity felt herself blush so hard that her face like it was on fire and she coughed that awkward cough people do when they're embarrassed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Oliver smiling but the billionaire playboy didn't say anything and Felicity was thankful. Then she realized that Oliver was _smiling_, a real smile and she wished that she could take a picture. Oliver didn't smile all that often which was a shame as he looked particularly good-looking when he did and happiness settled in Felicity's stomach at the fact that she made him smile.

"You're doing it again."

"I'm sorry what?"

Felicity shook her head and brushed a strand of her hair out of her face. Oliver looked at her this time and grinned, which made Felicity's heart do flip-flops.

"You're getting lost in your own headspace again."

"Oh goodness. I do that a lot. It's a habit from working by myself for so many long hours a day."

"Do you want to have your own team Felicity? I can have your work load lightened by giving you your own team."

By this time Oliver had parked underneath an underpass along the river and turned to face Felicity. The look in his eyes told Felicity that he was serious and she entertained the thought for half a minute before shaking her head.

"Thanks Oliver but I don't play well with others in my domain I'm afraid."

"A quality that we share it would seem."

Oliver got out of the car and Felicity followed suit. She stood beside him on the riverbank and heard him exhale heavily. As the moments of silence continued, she swore she could feel the tension and anxiety ebb out of Oliver. He looked over at her and smiled again.

"I told you that I come to the river to think and relax. On the island the streams and rivers were where peace could be found for brief moments of time."

"The island? You mean where you were…before um…now?"

Oliver mentioning the island where he was the past five years surprised Felicity because whenever anyone mentioned the island to Oliver, the man would clam up tighter than anything Felicity had ever seen. Diggle said Oliver wouldn't even talk about the island with him or any of his family even though everyone had asked.

"Yes. That place."

Felicity giggled at Oliver's ominous tone and over exaggerated raise of his eyebrows. They stood on the riverbank for a few more minutes until Oliver swung his arms back and forth, clapped his hands and sighed. Felicity looked at him and saw the tiredness weigh in on him again.

"Time to go?"

"Yeah, its about that time. My little sister will be wondering where I am and why I'm coming in so late again."

The fondness in Oliver's tone as he spoke of Thea warmed Felicity's heart as she knew that Oliver cared for his younger sister deeply. She knew that the weight of his secret identity weighed a tremendous deal on Oliver's shoulders but in talking with Diggle while Oliver was out on his missions, Felicity found out that Oliver didn't complain. In fact, the only time Starling City's hero talked about it was when someone else brought it up.

"Well text her and say your spending the night out with a friend."

"What?"

Felicity blurted out her audio thought before she really thought about it and the full magnitude of Oliver Queen's gaze fell upon her in a second. The more she thought about the idea of spending more time with Oliver outside of the mill or The Hood missions, the more Felicity liked the idea and she held her ground with confidence. She crossed her arms underneath her breasts and tilted her head to the side.

"You don't have to tell her which friend, although she is a smart girl and you need to have some fun. We can go back to my apartment, I can cook you something and you can relax. No Hood missions, no targets and no names to cross off in a little book."

"Okay."

When Oliver agreed with her Felicity's mouth almost dropped open but she recovered and nodded her head. Oliver gestured back to his car and Felicity saw him texting on his phone as they walked back. He put his phone back in his pocket, opened the car door for her and dropped into his seat a moment later.

"Where do you live?"

"You don't know?"

Oliver stared at her expectantly but Felicity narrowed her eyes and regarded him with a steady gaze. He met her gaze, his expression one of bewilderment and innocence but Felicity knew better.

"You know exactly how Thea gets to school, what route your mom takes to get to Queen's Consolidated and when Diggle goes to visit his lady-friend at the diner. I think you know where I live but are trying to reign in your stalkerish tendencies."

Oliver cracked a moment later and started his car with a smirk. He pulled away from the river and sped towards Felicity's apartment. Felicity sat back in her seat with a smirk and crossed her arms underneath her breasts. The two of them didn't talk on the way to her apartment but Felicity didn't mind, as she knew that Oliver liked silence and spoke only when he needed to.

"What are you going to tell the attendant?"

"Huh? What?"

Oliver's question pulled Felicity out of the shared silence and she looked at him. He didn't take his eyes off the road but a grin tugged at the corner of his lips.

"You don't bring men back to your apartment and the night attendant stares at you a few seconds too long to be considered professional."

"How do you know all this?"

Felicity turned in her seat to face Oliver and glared at him. He was right of course, on both accounts but the fact that he knew this flustered her a bit.

"The Hood has eyes everywhere. Don't you watch the news?"

"Oh right. Not stalkerish but not kosher either mister. You may be my boss in both of my lives but there is such a thing as employee privacy."

Once again Oliver's answer was genuine and within his boundaries. Felicity knew that Oliver kept tabs on both her and Diggle, for their safety and his peace of mind she suspected. This is why she didn't say anything as Oliver parked his car outside of her apartment building and turned off the car.

"So how do you want to play this Felicity?"

"Um, you're the delivery boy carrying a package for me?"

"This late at night?"

Oliver grinned at Felicity's babble and turned so he could focus the entirety of his commanding gaze on her. Felicity's mouth opened, shut and opened again but nothing came out. Then, with a huff she opened the passenger side door and stormed out of the car. Oliver hurried after her, not trusting the nighttime darkness and slowed the flustered blonde with a touch to her elbow. Felicity turned to him and in a rare gesture of physical intimacy, Oliver lifted her face to his with a finger underneath her chin.

"I didn't mean to upset you Felicity and it would appear that despite my best efforts my sense of humor is still nonexistent."

"At least you're trying. The Oliver from six months ago wouldn't even attempt to crack a joke."

An immense sense of unexpected relief rushed through Oliver at Felicity's statement and he eased her in the direction of the door of her apartment building. Felicity squared her shoulders and marched through the door. She didn't spare a glance to the night attendant and called for the elevator.

"I didn't know that you brought blokes home for the night there Felicity."

"I don't."

That was all Felicity said in response to the night attendant's sleazy quip and Oliver dutifully played the role of messenger by carrying a large, unmarked package into the elevator after Felicity. The doors slid shut and with a start the elevator began its ascent.

"Consider me impressed. That was very commanding and forceful of you."

"I don't know how I did that! It was like this sudden rush of adrenaline and don't mess with me attitude welled up in me."

The childish excitement Felicity exuded in that moment made Oliver smile and he made a mental note to up the ante in Felicity's self defense training now that she was beginning to gain confidence. He didn't say anything in response to her excited babbling, content for now just to listen and enjoy this night of normalcy.

* * *

Once inside of Felicity's apartment the excited blonde wished she had remembered to clean her apartment before inviting Oliver over and she shoved him none to gently onto the couch with explicit instructions _not to move_. She scooped up five days worth of mail off the small table next to the couch and shoved it behind the cookie jar in a nervous attempt to hide the clutter.

"You got this girl. It's just Oliver. Your boss in both worlds. No big deal."

After a few deep breaths Felicity returned to the medium sized living room with two glasses of sparkling water (what? It was all she had in her fridge at the moment and she was most definitely _not_ going back out there empty handed!) and was surprised to see Oliver sitting where she had last directed him.

"What? I didn't move, I promise."

"I know and that's what is surprising."

"Oh?"

Felicity offered Oliver a glass and he took it with a nod in thanks. He didn't speak much and when he did it was in short, concise sentences meant to convey exactly what he meant to say and only that. Somehow though, he always drew more information and thoughts from the person he was speaking with and Felicity knew that he used this to great effect on her.

"You have this seemingly insatiable need to know everything about people you are interested in and I half expected you to be wandering around my apartment."

"What can I say? You bring out a certain level of restraint in me."

Aaaaand there was the flirty, playboy millionaire Starling City saw but Felicity detected a hint of honesty which made her blush even deeper. She coughed and turned on her radio to distract herself from the flirtatious banter.

"What do you feel like eating Oliver?"

"You don't have to go out of your way to cook me something Felicity."

"No, I offered and I saw in your eyes that you wanted something. What is it?"

Silence stretched between the two of them and Oliver looked at Felicity with a boyish, charming grin. Felicity raised an eyebrow in response and tilted her head.

"Macaroni and cheese."

"That's it? Come on be serious!"

"I am. My mother doesn't believe in fast food or anything beneath the Queen standards. I don't eat fast food as a general rule but a bowl or two would certainly hit the spot right now."

The ease and comfort in which Oliver spoke made Felicity smile and she nodded her head. She could definitely do macaroni and cheese as that's what her budget consisted of half of the week.

"I can do that. Come on."

Felicity twirled around and strolled into her kitchen. She pulled the pot out from the cupboard, the macaroni from the shelf and two bowls. Oliver leaned against the doorframe when Felicity glanced over her shoulder and he gave her a soft smile that made her stomach do flip-flops.

"You can sit you know. I should know more than anybody how much time you spend on your feet any given day and frankly I'm surprised you don't fall over or something half the time."

"I'm used to standing for long periods of time. Or staying still in any position for a long time for that matter."

Once again Felicity didn't answer Oliver as he mentioned the island for the second time tonight and she wondered if this was a conscious effort to get off the island for good or if the statement was made subconsciously. Either way, Oliver was trying and she smiled to herself.

"Does that include lying down? In all the time that I've known you since before and after I joined Team Hood I've never actually seen you lie down."

Setting a timer to ding when the macaroni was done, Felicity turned around to face Oliver and leaned back against the stove. She turned around just in time to catch him mouthing the words 'Team Hood' and she giggled.

"Is that what you call Diggle, you and I?"

"Yes and I think it's a good team name so no, we are not changing it."

Felicity nodded, as if she had _any_ say what so ever and giggled again at Oliver's dumbfounded look. After a moment Oliver shook his head and appeared to let the matter drop.

"Good, I'm glad that you agree with me."

The ding of the timer gave Felicity the excuse to turn around and collect herself as she poured the gooey food into two bowls. Oliver got the larger portion and Felicity wondered for a brief moment if this night would be the first of many to come. Smiling to herself she turned around and handed Oliver his bowl.

"You eat like a bird Felicity."

"Why thank you Oliver and you should try and get fat every once in a while."

The two adults laughed at the snappy comments made between them and Felicity led Oliver back to her living room couch. Like a school girl with her first crush she was acutely aware of the distance between her and Oliver as they each sat on each end of the couch and ate in silence for a few minutes.

"You really like mac n' cheese don't you?"

Oliver grinned and shoveled another bite into his mouth. He winked at her and put his empty bowl on the floor beside the couch. Felicity gasped at how fast he ate his portion of the meal.

"You could say that."

Felicity shook her head and watched as Oliver stalked around her apartment, his sharp eyes cataloguing every inch. She blushed when he stopped at her Power Ranger collection and shrugged her shoulders when he looked back at her.

"Oliver would you mind terribly if I skipped out of the room for a few minutes to get changed into something more comfortable? I mean, I could totally stay and keep you company-"

"It's your apartment Felicity and those heels have to be killing you."

Felicity jumped up from the couch, scooped up Oliver's bowl and hurried into the kitchen to drop them into the sink. She flashed by Oliver and was in such a hurry that she didn't notice that her door didn't close all the way.

* * *

He really shouldn't be standing in the middle of her living room. There was so many tactical errors and murky emotional pitfalls that his alter ego screamed at him to vanish into the comforting darkness. To get away from the lights and warmth that Felicity's apartment and the woman herself provided.

"I'll be out in just a minute Oliver!"

Felicity spoke louder than she needed to because Oliver's hearing was finely honed and he was willing to wager that she didn't know that her door was opened a crack. A crack wide enough that when Oliver glanced in the direction of her room he swallowed…hard.

"Okay."

Felicity was changing by the light of the moonlight, which through her form into a dreamy silhouette and slivers of her porcelain skin were highlighted in the moonlight. Oliver vividly recalled the blonde bombshell that had attended his family's gala and the shadowy woman in Felicity's room had all the same exact curves and teasing allure.

"Oh goodness…"

Felicity had reached behind herself and peeled away a portion of her skin, which Oliver knew to be her bra and he watched transfixed as she wriggled into a pair of shorts and finished changing by pulling a t-shirt over her head. Oliver turned just in time to be staring out the window when Felicity re-emerged tying her hair back and she touched the back of his arm to let him know she was okay. Warmth sped through his body where Felicity's fingers rested on his arm and Oliver selfishly didn't want her to move her hand but he knew that wasn't possible.

"The night is ours…yours Oliver. What do you want to do?"

"You ever just stop and listen to the silence Felicity?"

Oliver stared down into Felicity's large eyes and smiled at her innocence. She shook her head and without a word Oliver helped her out onto her fire escape. He put his back to the wall and tilted his head back with a sigh.

"This was my favorite past time on the island after I was taught the meaning and significance behind it. I used to spend hours sitting in the highest places I could find and just…listen."

"You sure your calling isn't to be a Buddhist monk?"

Oliver chuckled at Felicity's quiet joke and after a moment she began to hum. Nonsensical words to Oliver but her tone was soothing and he closed his eyes. The night couldn't get any better in his opinion than right now and he would enjoy it as much as he could.

* * *

Oliver eased through the front door of his family's mansion and inched the door closed. He turned around, breathed a sigh of relief that no one was in the general vicinity and crept upstairs to his bedroom. He groaned however, when the sight of Thea sitting on his bed met him as he entered his bedroom and he leaned back against his bedroom door with a heavy sigh.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping still Speedy?"

"Oh no no no no you don't! I woke up early specifically to talk to you after you sent me that oh so mysterious text last night. Start talking mister."

Oliver dropped his hands from pressing into his eyes and stared at his sister who was idly picking at her school skirt. She locked gazes with him and tilted her head to the side much like Felicity did.

"Ollie do I need to remind you that I can make this very hard for you?"

"Oh yes because you're so terrifying Speedy."

Thea smirked but kept staring at Oliver and he sighed. He racked his brain for a solution and grimaced as he realized the power was distributed equally between the two siblings in this situation.

"You can ask as many questions as you want but I only have to answer three of them and I get to decide which questions I answer. That's the deal."

"Ollie that's so unfair!"

Oliver leveled Thea with what Felicity called 'The Hood gaze' and his younger sister caved with an adorable pout. She even slapped Oliver's bed and kicked her foot. After a moment she exhaled and tossed her hair back.

"Fine. Do I know her?"

Thea's first question made Oliver pause as he really had to think if she knew Felicity. As far as he could tell she didn't as Thea rarely stepped foot inside of Queen's Consolidated and he never talked about Felicity while at home.

"I'm fairly positive that you don't."

"What's her name?"

Oliver gave his sister a disbelieving look but Thea laughed and shook her head. She paused for a moment and held her chin in her hand.

"How did you meet her?"

"I read up on her."

This time it was Thea who gave Oliver a disbelieving look but Oliver smirked and held up one finger to show she only had one questions left. Thea humphed but didn't argue.

"Is she like your other bimbo past girlfriends? Goodness please say no."

"No and I mean that. She is not my girlfriend either but she is entirely different than the women I used to…date in the past."

The two Queen children shared a laugh and Thea chewed on her bottom lip. Oliver thought about Felicity as he waited and smiled as he remembered the quiet intimacy they shared last night.

"Is she marriage material?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Take a minute to think about it if you want but could you see yourself marrying this girl?"

Oliver did take a minute, plus ten more to think about the possibility of marrying Felicity and his alter ego didn't immediately shut him down. Felicity was opposite to him in almost every way, knew of and supported his double life for the most part and kept his morality in check even better than Diggle. It wasn't that much of a stretch to see them walking down the marriage aisle together….

"In my dreams maybe. I've never thought about marriage."

"Okay fair enough. Last question before I go. Will I get to meet her soon?"

Thea's last question prompted Oliver to smile a wide, slow and lazy smile born of wistful longing and unchecked desire. He walked over to his bed, bent over and kissed Thea's forehead.

"Maybe sometime in between the next sometime."

Thea hopped off Oliver's bed without prompting and smiled a genuine smile of affection over her shoulder as she stood in Oliver's open bedroom doorway.

"Keep hold of her then Ollie. I don't think I've seen you smile so much since you returned from the island and thanks for letting me ask extra questions."

A few minutes after his door closed behind Thea, Oliver reached over to his nightstand and picked up his phone to where he had dropped it during Thea's interrogation. He scrolled through his contacts and called a particular number with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Hey Felicity. I have something that I would like you to do for me. Can I tempt you with the offer of cinnamon buns and coffee for breakfast in twenty minutes?"


End file.
